people are saying ...

“ What a magical night in Venice! That is how we felt as we glided at dusk down the Providence River with Gondolier Marcello and accordion player Maria. A beautiful night - calm and still with a crescent moon. The four of us sipping wine as Maria softly played in the moonlight. We had a “moment” when in the hushed silence of our ride Marcello sang “Ave Maria”. BEAUTIFUL! We truly enjoyed our experience and I have been telling everyone about it. Thank you to Marcello for ending the night by singing Happy Birthday in Italian to us!”

“Friends surprised us with a gondola ride - what a totally unexpected thrill! Rosario is great - we loved the history lessons and his Italian songs. We highly recommend this beautiful experience!”

“Went on a partial Waterfire trip last night, and it was absolutely magical! What a wonderful service. Our Gondolier, Rosario, had an amazing singing voice. I would recommend this experience to anyone! Thank you all so much!”

“ We shared our gondola ride with two close friends, Maureen and Rick, the week before their wedding. What a lovely start to a wedding week! The weather was perfect - warm and breezy. Alessandro, the gondolier, provided us with a smooth-as-silk ride, while Luciano, the baritone, serenaded us beautifully, in Italian. The entire experience was lovely. We even bought the commemorative wine glasses! We recommend La Gondola highly.”

“My husband Michael planned a gondola ride for part of my birthday celebration. Along with our friends Sue and Bill, we all had an absolutely awesome time. The weather was perfect and the water very calm as Raphaello and Don serenaded us with beautiful music.
We enjoyed crackers, cheese and wine while feeling like we were the only ones around. It was wonderful to see the city from a different perspective and the views were wonderful. We truly felt special during the entire ride.”

“ Dear La Gondola,
We took our young children on a Gondola ride on Saturday, May 27th before Waterfire. Our gondola was a majestic hand carved masterpiece straight out of dream, and our guide, Rafael, could not have been nicer. What a great way to see the revitalized downtown Providence riverfront! We are sure to ride again the next time we are in town. Thank you for a wonderful experience!”

“ My husband of 52 years and I spent a peaceful, quiet,and interesting early evening ride on a stunning gondola through the center of Providence. We were entertained by a talented mandolin player(Don) and an accomplished singer/rower and travel guide, Rosario. Both young men were fun to travel with while the city passed by. When the ride was finished,we both were relaxed and ready for dinner on Federal Hill. What a nice way to start an evening in the city. Thanks for making everything perfect.”

“I sent my daughter and her friends on a surprise limo ride/scavenger hunt with the last stop being a Gondola ride. First of all let me say that when I called Matthew I told him my idea and he made it extremely affordable for my party. 14 teenagers, 3 Gondolas, and the best singing in Providence. The kids came out of the limo that night at my house and ran up to me to tell me how AMAZING the Gondola ride was. There were 4 teenage boys that were just as impressed as the girls and said it was the best part of the night! (Let me mention they were on go-karts earlier in the evening so I considered that to be a pretty high compliment) thank you, Thank you, Thank you for making this such a special night!”

“I never thought I would ever experience a ride in a gondola. It was incredible! My husband and I really enjoyed hearing the history of Providence and Marcello’s amazing voice. We can’t thank him enough for such a remembrance that will stay with us forever.

We would like to recommend EVERYONE to take the ride.

They have a “Water Fire” right on the canal. They say it is so beautiful. Next time, hopefully, we can enjoy that too. But nothing comes close to that wonderful, exciting feeling of being in a gondola. We love our wine glasses, chocolates, wine biscuits and the beautiful picture of us. What an adventure, it will last forever. Thank you again, Marcello. I still can hear you singing. so lovely.”

“Wonderful time. Went with a group of friends, One of the gentlemen was a wonderful singer, upon request, they even did a duet for us. They were accomodating and made our trip enjoyable. Highly recommend it.”

“Our Friday night ride was magnificent - we have told EVERYONE how awesome it was! THANK YOU for making our weekend in Providence all the more special! We’re SO glad we did NOT do the ride on WaterFire night!!! What a difference we saw the next night with all the people - ours was quiet, relaxing, romantic and so much MORE!”

“We came at the end of the season and unfortunately at what turned out to be a blustery evening (not forcast)Our gondelier, Marcello, was a very skilled oarsman and gave us a wonderful ride and beautiful views of the city and a sample of his glorious voice. Royalty could not have been treated better. The story that this particular gondola had participated in the New Orleans rescues made the trip even more special. Oh, enjoy the Bellinis, we did. Non alcoholic, but you can fix them up if you have the urge. ”

“I surprised my girlfriend with a trip on the gondola; it was a very important day for her, and after going to dinner, we strolled through Providence to the landing. The trip was magnificent; it was dusk on a Wednesday evening, and the gondolier, Alessandro, and accordion player, Daniella, both did an incredible job. It was an experience that we will not soon forget, if ever. Thank you! ”

“ The trip was so relaxing and enjoyable, and seemed so uniquely “Providence”

“My wife and I came to Rhode Island for our 23rd wedding anniversary. We almost didn’t go on the La Gondola experience, but I made sure we did. We had Rosario as our Gondolier and let me just say he was fantastic! His voice was wonderful, his knowledge of Providence was superb and he was very personable. This experience was definitely the highlight of our 4 day celebration and thank you Rosario for making it such a special evening. I hope you get to Venice. The only thing I wish is that we had come earlier in the season to experience the river lights, but that will give us something to come back next year. We will definitely recommend La Gondola to our friends.”

“Our ride was wonderful. Relaxing and enjoyable. We especially enjoyed Marcello’s singing. Will highly recommend to friends & family. Thank you, Marcello!”

“My husband and I took the tour for our anniversary and couldn’t have asked for a better evening! We had the most amazing time and our gondolier was superb! I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun romantic evening! Thank you again!”

“ A wonderful experience!” The gondoliers are talented and charming. The river is beautiful and peaceful and the Gondolas are elegant. The views, the mandolin, the singing...all excellent. A memorable ride”

“My 2 daughters and I had a wonderful time on the gondola.We will definitely spread the word.We especially enjoyed Marcello’s singing!”

“ We recently took our class of 36 children on a summer field trip to La Gondola in Providence. The afternoon surpassed our wildest dreams. We were graciously greeted by three wonderful gondoliers; Marcello, Rafaello and Rosario. Some of the children were able to go right out on the gondolas. Those who were waiting their turn were entertained by a wonderful accordion player [Daniela] who played Italian music for the singing and dancing pleasure of the children. The gondoliers focused their tour on the importance of the waterway as the children were offered ice cold water, cheese and crackers. Life vests and umbrellas were available for safety and the tour was peppered with serenades. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon!”

“Just wanted to let you know that Mark and I had a great evening. We will definitely recommend to others as well. Thanks again! ”

“Our ride was amazing, what a beautiful way to see Providence at night. An experience and a knowledgable treat! I would recommend it to everyone”